Autumn Nations Series: Why world rankings matter for 2027 Rugby World Cup drawdraw

The autumn internationals get under way on Saturday as teams look to pick up vital ranking points before the draw for the 2027 Rugby World Cup on 3 December.

Teams will be drawn into six pools of four for the group stage of the tournament in Australia.

As things stand the top six sides in the world rankings – South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland, France, England and Argentina – will be placed in band one for the draw and would therefore avoid playing each other in the pool stage.

Australia (seventh) and Scotland (eighth) will be eyeing up strong autumns to try to break into the top six, while Wales (12th) will want to avoid falling out of the second band of teams and facing an even trickier World Cup draw.

With the World Cup two years away, the autumn matches also provide head coaches with an opportunity to blood new players and develop their tactics.

There is something to play for across the board.